Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory now and forever. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, The Prayer Appointed for the Third Week of Advent)
Power is, well, powerful. When harnessed rightly, it can be used to accomplish great ends and bring tremendous blessings to others. But it can also be dangerous when it runs untamed or in evil hands. Even today, I got a small reminder of this when I went to turn on a light and received a painful shock of static electricity. And if you have ever come into contact with a live wire, you know it can be deadly. There are also numerous biblical and historical instances that remind us of power used for destructive purposes.
So, it may seem strange to pray for the power of God to be stirred up. We know that such displays can have positive (creation of the universe, resurrection of Jesus) or negative (the Flood, plagues) consequences. On top of that, we know that we can’t control what God will do if His power is stirred up. He’s not tame or safe (Please go read The Chronicle of Narnia if you haven’t or even if you have). Yet, in this season of Advent when we focus our longing on the coming of the King, our prayer is that when He comes it will be in power and with great might.
The prayer, though, recognizes that this power and might must come with a certain disposition. A pure, raw display of God’s power could consume and destroy us. Why? Because of our sins, which make us, in and of ourselves, unworthy and unprepared to face God in His power, a situation we cannot rectify ourselves. And so, this power must be pressed through grace and mercy.
This prayer reminds me of Moses’ request to see the glory of the Lord. We find the account in Exodus 33-34. God tells Moses that He cannot grant the request because a man shall not see me and live (33:20). So, God devises a plan whereby He hides Moses in the cleft of a rock, covers him, passes by, and then gives him a glance of His back. But even such a small taste of the glory and power of God requires that God’s words to Moses are one of grace. The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin… (34:6-7).
And the goal of such an Advent? That we might be helped and delivered. The ultimate longing of our hearts is for salvation unmerited, not condemnation earned. But then the strange plot twist of Christmas occurs. God answers this cry for deliverance by His power and in His mercy by sending His Son as a baby. It doesn’t look like power as the world defines it. But the Incarnation is an expression of God’s power and grace combined.
And so, saints, as the days of Advent longing and preparation are soon to give way to the celebration of Christmas, let us be reminded that this is not some sentimental story. It is not the stuff of Hallmark Christmas movies. The birth of this child is the result of God stirring up His power and great might so that we might be helped and delivered from all of the guilt and shame and devastation of our sins and from the heartache of living in a world that has been broken by sin. For the gospel writer reminds us that, even before His birth, Joseph was told to call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
